Four Times
by amberpire
Summary: Sinbad was the ocean and Proteus was the shore. ;Sinbad/Proteus; Oneshot.


They kissed exactly four times. Those four moments were frozen among a thousand others that were victim to the fading of time. They were always sharp. They were always there.

When Proteus would cast his eyes over the calm city that was now his, he would think of that man out at sea.

When Sinbad dragged his fingers along the waves, he would think of that man he left behind.

* * *

The first was when they were sixteen. Sinbad was lounging in a rickety chair the two had made from sticks and a pillow he had stolen from a local shop. Their hideout wasn't very large, but it served what purpose they needed; it was underground, tucked away under the roots of an old tree, and was an excellent place to hide when Sinbad was running for his life. Which, not surprisingly, happened very often.

Let it be clear that Proteus had not planned on kissing anyone when he woke up that morning; he only wanted to practice sword fighting with his best friend. That was all. It was Sinbad who initiated the kiss when he confessed to having never kissed a girl before. Proteus lowered the knife he had been twiddling with and cast his curious eyes at the tall, toned teenager in the corner.

"You are kidding." Proteus lowered the knife to the dirt, tracing shapes. "You have stolen pounds of goods, crashed a dozen parties, found a way to get past the guards at the palace to sneak into my room and yet you have never kissed a lady?"

Sinbad scowled then, frowning over at his best friend. "I bet you haven't kissed one either, and you're a _prince_."

Proteus frowned. "It would be terribly improper of me to kiss a lady I did not intend to marry."

The other boy rolled his eyes so hard they risked popping right out of his face. He rolled forward onto his stomach, face propped up by his hands. "So you're just going to hold back until you meet your future wife? That could be, like, forever, Pro."

The prince's brows met over his nose. "I am not some ... I am a royal, Sinbad! My wedding is being planned as we speak with another royal in another country! I cannot just go ... running about stealing kisses from ladies, especially if I am not going to be their husband."

Sinbad shook his head. "What if you're really bad at it, and your wife-to-be leaves you?"

Proteus' mouth opened and closed, a new fear gripping him. "You can ... It is possible to be bad at kissing?"

Sinbad scoffed loudly. "Of course! Just like you can be bad at singing or dancing or stealing. Like you are."

Proteus pursed his lips. "I am a wonderful dancer."

"Compared to me, sure."

The prince crossed his arms. "Well, if I am to be bad at kissing, so shall you. Neither of us have any experience."

It was then that Sinbad perked, an idea forming. He sat up, crawling across the tiny space that separated them. "You and I could practice."

Proteus frowned. "With who? We do not know many women, and I already said I am not going -"

"No, I meant you and I could kiss. That way we know how to do it when, you know, it's a girl."

Apparently Sinbad did not see the obvious faults with this plan. Proteus leaned backwards, throwing up his arms. "Have you lost your mind? You are my best friend - a boy, if you have forgotten."

Sinbad blinked. "I am aware of my gender, thank you, Proteus."

Proteus flapped his arms uselessly. "I cannot kiss you! That is - that is -"

"It's not like I want to marry you. I don't want to be your royal wife." Sinbad made a face as he scooted closer, clapping his hands on the prince's knees. "Look, do you want to impress your future queen or what?"

The shorter boy opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He studied Sinbad for a long moment, failing to come up with a coherent sentence. Kiss Sinbad? That was wrong, wasn't it? Somehow? He had never heard of such a thing before, a boy kissing another boy, but ...

"It won't even count as, like, your first kiss or anything, because I'm a guy. And you're a guy. And it's just for practice. Proteus, come on. I don't want to suck when I actually get a girl."

"But, I, we -"

"Oh, _shut up_, Proteus." Sinbad shifted forward, hands bracing on the prince's knees. Proteus barely managed to close his mouth before Sinbad smothered it with his own. Their first kiss was sloppy but careful, their lips unsure, but Sinbad gained momentum and confidence after a few moments and tested his tongue against the other boy's lips, which parted with a swallowed gasp. The thief's hands moved to touch the prince's trembling chest, fingers just brushing over the buttons that held together his shirt and then he pulled back, their lips separating with a loud smack.

Proteus blinked blearily, his head quite fogged up at the moment. Sinbad wiped at his lips, smirking as he tilted his chin up in a pompous way.

"For a beginner ... I was awesome."

Proteus pushed a hand against his racing heart, leveling his whirling eyes on his best friend. After a moment he managed a breathless chuckle, nudging the other boy with his foot. "Shut up, Sinbad."

* * *

The second kiss was a bit more rushed and not as light hearted as the first.

Sinbad had all but forgotten about their little secret in the hideout. They had not spoken of it since it happened and Sinbad had had his share of kisses from girls once he had the confidence to do so. And he was right. He was a fantastic kisser.

The dynamics of their friendship hadn't changed. They were still best friends. Sinbad was still stealing and Proteus was still covering his ass when he got caught.

Sinbad was on his way to the dock to meet the prince, hands in his pockets, circled about a fruit he had snagged from one of the various stands at the port. He spotted the boy in the distance, grinning as he started to burst into a jog. There was something about Proteus that automatically made the thief feel a hundred times better. Sinbad had been alone before crossing paths with him and it wasn't until he had a partner in crime (kind of) that he realized just how terrible loneliness was.

His feet slowed to a stop when he saw what Proteus was walking toward. He ducked behind a stack of barrels, peering out. The afternoon sun washed over the dock, illuminating a a girl as she stepped off of an enormous ship. Sinbad watched, feeling his heart drop into his feet as Proteus bowed to her and extended his hand.

The prince - _his _prince - kissed the girl's hand and Sinbad knew without having to be told that this was going to be Proteus' wife. This was the royal marriage that had been set up for him years ago.

And Proteus was a prince and Sinbad was an orphaned thief destined to the seas and he knew he couldn't stay here anymore. He studied his blade behind those barrels, waited for the girl to be escorted away before he jogged across the dock, grabbed the prince by the elbow and yanked him wordlessly into the nearest alleyway. Proteus protested loudly, going on about how he had to make sure Marina made it to her new home safely but Sinbad wasn't listening - this was their goodbye, even if the prince didn't know it.

"When you marry that girl, you better remember who taught you how to kiss." Sinbad pushed the boy against the hard wall of the building, the shadows concealing them there. He watched the confusion settle in Proteus' brow before shaking his head, diving in to press his lips hard against the other boy's. Their teeth clashed and there was only a brief stir of resistance on Proteus' part before the fight died.

His prince kissed him back for several short moments, and then Sinbad pulled back and met his eyes. He was dazed, again, and Sinbad felt his legs start to tremble as he released the boy's shirt and burst into a run.

Sinbad jumped on the closest ship.

He didn't look back.

* * *

The third was ten years later.

Proteus couldn't believe his eyes when his best friend swooped onto his ship, that same cocky-ass grin plastered to his face with the same blade holstered at his hip. But there he was, ten years older - taller, broader, and with considerably more facial hair. Had they been alone, he would have strangled him in a hug. As it was, though, he was about to be robbed by his old - still? - best friend and it just wasn't the time.

It wasn't until after Sinbad had reluctantly been introduced to his fiance that they were really alone. Sinbad had become stone as soon as Marina came into view and Proteus wasn't about to let him jump back on his ship and disappear for another ten years. He caught up with the thief, all but begging him to have just a word before he left again. Sinbad had followed, although apprehensively, into a room at random. The noises of the party faded as the heavy door shut behind them, the prince wasting no time now that they wouldn't be interrupted.

He thew his arms around Sinbad's shoulders and crushed their chests together, biting back the urge to cry. It had just been so long, and he had been so lonely without the thief ... at first there was no response, no reaction at all, and for several moments Proteus had feared he had made a terrible mistake in embracing Sinbad this way. Ten years could drastically change a person. But then the thief's arms nearly crushed him, his face turning into his neck. Proteus's fingers slid into the other man's hair.

"I missed you so much, Sinbad, you ... you bastard." Proteus tried to laugh, but it came out like a strangled sob.

Sinbad's arms tightened. "I'm sorry."

Proteus shook his head and pulled back, a sigh rattling out of him. Sinbad looked so ... mature, and he had missed so much, the transition from boy to man. At least the thief's eyes were still that same warm brown. "Why did you leave? I thought ... I thought you had died, Sin."

The pirate didn't release his hold on the prince's waist - in fact, he drew the man closer. "She came. Your life was moving on and I ... I can't be a part of it anymore."

Proteus shook his head. "Sinbad, you are - no! That is wrong! There is no reason we cannot be friends, there is no reason you cannot stay here and be with me, with _us _again -"

Sinbad silenced him with his lips. The kiss was long and hot, too hot, and Proteus found all words wiped clear out of his brain. There was only the door at his back and Sinbad's hands clenching around his hips. This time it was Proteus who teased the other man's lips with his tongue, gasping quietly at the warmth that filled his mouth. His hand held the pirate's face and never had he wanted something so badly than to be frozen in that room with Sinbad forever.

"I wasn't made for land," Sinbad said against his lips, "and you weren't built for the sea."

And then he was gone. Proteus touched his lips, slumping to the floor. He tried to be angry, tried to hate Sinbad for being so ridiculous, but he was right.

Sinbad was the ocean and Proteus was the shore. They cross at a few points, but for the most part, they are completely independent of each other. The prince might be able to dip his feet into the waves from time to time, but they would always pull away.

* * *

The fourth and final time was the last time they ever saw each other alive.

Sinbad had returned to save Proteus' life. The book of peace was back in its rightful place, the chaos had finally silenced. Everything had been resolved. There was to be a party, but Sinbad's eyes said all that Proteus needed to hear; Sinbad was never good with being the center of attention. Not on land, anyway.

After telling his crew to grab a few essentials from the town market (and to pay for them like a respectable citizen, god damnit), he and Proteus walked toward their old hideout without speaking. Proteus hadn't been there in ten years, not since Sinbad had run away. Neither of them were prepared for the state they found it in - caved. The tree that had once been their protection had sank into the ground, filling the hole they had called home quite nicely.

They stood a few feet away, not speaking, simply staring at the destruction. It was Proteus who moved first, placing his hand on the rough bark of the tree. He sighed, feeling something tighten in his chest.

"You are not going to come back after this, are you?"

Sinbad didn't answer the question. He simply took the prince by the shoulder and turned him around. Their eyes met.

"The ocean is my second love. Remember that, Proteus."

The prince nodded, blinking back the stinging in his eyes as he leaned forward and kissed his best friend for what he somehow knew would be the last time. And he wished things had turned out differently, that they both had sea legs, that he could just up and leave his father and his friends and family and this city, but he knew they needed him. They needed him more than Sinbad and that was just fact.

The thief pulled away, met his best friend's eyes and then stepped back. Proteus reached out with desperate fingers, clenching them about Sinbad's shirt.

"Thank you, Sin. For being my best friend." He smiled weakly. "And for teaching me how to kiss."

Although it was faint, a cocky grin swam up Sinbad's lips. "Your future wife should be thanking me, not you." He touched the man's hand and squeezed it gently, nodding his head slightly. "Goodbye, Proteus."

Proteus watched Sinbad's back fade into the trees. By the time he had reached the dock, the ship was a dot in the descending sun.

The water lapped at his feet. The wind carried his goodbye on lips that were still warm.


End file.
